Kuehne + Nagel’s overland business enters the profit zone

2014 brought improvements in all business units to the Kuehne + Nagel Group; Ocean freight and air freight grew above market

In a still volatile economic environment with fluctuating currencies, the Kuehne + Nagel Group was able to simultanously expand its market share and increase results in 2014. For the first time profits were reported over four consecutive quarters.

„The turnaround in the overland business unit made an essential contribution to the considerable improvement in profitability. I would also like to emphasise the continuously excellent performance in airfreight and the further improvement of results in contract logistics. Seafreight volumes grew and the margins remained stable, despite the high volatility of rates and negative currency impacts“, CEO Detlef Trefzger commented on the 2014 annual balance.

In overland, the turnaround was achieved in 2014. Compared to the previous year EBIT increased by CHF 38 million. The “Road 2 Profit” strategy, which was introduced in 2013 and consistently implemented, showed the expected impact. It is based on optimisation of the product portfolio, intense focus on specific customer segments and centralised purchasing of cargo capacity.

Handling over 3.8 million TEU, which represents an increase of 242,000 containers or 7 per cent more than in the previous year, Kuehne + Nagel grew significantly faster than the global seafreight market, which gained around 4 per cent. In particular the company maximised business opportunities arising from an improved economic climate in the U.S. and achieved considerable volume increases in the transpacific and transatlantic trade lanes.

In the Asia-Europe traffic Kuehne + Nagel concentrated on margin stability and did not participate in the intensive price competition. Specialised solutions such as reefer container and LCL (Less-than-Container Load) saw a solid increase in volumes. Due to high rate volatility and negative currency impacts the EBIT of the business unit was slightly below the previous year, nevertheless the conversion rate remained stable at 30.3 per cent.

In airfreight Kuehne + Nagel continued the successful path in 2014. In addition to improved profitability, the company increased tonnage by 5.3 per cent in a market that grew moderately by 3 to 4 per cent, thereby clearly securing its position as the second largest global airfreight forwarder. Key success factors in this business unit are industry-specific airfreight products, which led to significant business wins in the pharmaceutical, automotive and industrial goods sectors. In comparison to the previous year, EBIT improved by 7.2 per cent. The conversion rate developed positively from 25.3 per cent in the previous year to 27.0 per cent.

The favourable development of results in contract logistics continued with qualitative growth and an EBIT increase of 7.7 per cent (in constant currencies 9.1 per cent). This was mainly a result of the focus on scalable solutions and services for internationally operating customers from selected industries. Subsequently, complex and innovative projects with major global customers from the pharmaceutical, automotive and e-commerce sector were acquired in 2014. At the same time the growth of business with existing customers substantially surpassed that of the market. The net turnover in contract logistics increased by 4.4 per cent (in constant currencies by 6.0 per cent). With 3.4 per cent the EBIT margin remained stable at the level of the previous year.

Quelle: LogEastics
Portal: www.logistik-express.com